Tommy Lyttle

Tommy Lyttle (1939-18 October 1995) was an Ulster Defense Association (UDA) leader during The Troubles and leader of the West Belfast Brigade from 1975 to 1990.

Biograpphy
Tommy Lyttle was born in Belfast, County Antrim, Northern Ireland in 1939 to a Protestant family, and he worked as a factory machinist and a bookmaker before joining the Ulster Defense Association in reaction to the 1971 Balmoral Furniture Company bombing. In 1975, he took over the West Belfast Brigade of the UDA from Charles Harding Smith; he helped Andy Tyrie with ousting Smith and taking over the UDA. Lyttle not only led the UDA in West Belfast, but also served as the group's spokesman for year, and he attempted to gain Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi's support for the UDA, an effort that failed. Lyttle was allegedly a Royal Ulster Constabulary informant for years, and he took part in UDA infighting, forming a rivalry with James Craig after Craig impregnated one of his daughters. In 1990, he was arrested and imprisoned for Craig's murder, but he was released in 1994. He died of a heart attack on 18 October 1995 at the age of 56 while playing pool.